Disclaimer: Naruto and all things associated with series do not belong to me.

AN: Not new to the fandom, but my first time writing Naruto fanfiction. A note, this fanfic is subject to change. I tend to go back to old pieces and edit after they've sat for a bit. Apologies, as this may be a little disjointed :)

Un-betaed

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He remembers screaming, shouting, and anger. Prisoner in his own mind, couldn't move, couldn't speak, could only hear the sounds of the dying village, and feel the splash of vibrant red on his pale hands. Hear the sound of his own voice laughing as his best friend's pale angry eyes bleed red, and this…usurper of his body laugh as life-sustaining fluid drips and gushes from the hole in the leaf ninja's chest.

And that's where things grow blurry and confused.

He remembers a bloody fanged grin, seals, and pain, the Snake Sannin screaming until it's suddenly his voice that's screaming, his body that's in pain.

A sudden sensation of being emptied and then filled until he could burst and then…nothing.

He laughs to himself quietly. After the nothing, he wakes up, and he can't see, can't hear; he can feel nothing but pain.

Sometimes as he lies there – at least…he thinks he's lying down – sometimes Sasuke envisions himself clad in white.

Bandaged, bruised, broken.

But then, sometimes Sasuke envisions times long past. He sees a girl with pink hair and sad green eyes, a boy with bright yellow hair and inquisitive blue that bore into him.

He also sees sunlight streaming through a window pane, golden light shining on the green foliage of the great trees surrounding the building.

So he knows, he knows that he must be dead and dreaming.

Because Konoha was gone, is gone, has been gone – destroyed, decimated, annihilated for a long while.

He should know, he was there.

"Sasuke…" the voice is despairing, full of long founded irritation, and fondness.

"Teme, I expected to pull the Snake bastard out, but I never thought I'd pull myself in."

He thinks he's gone insane. He's been hearing things; he's not sure if they're real or not, but the predominate voice sounds an awful lot like Naruto's (which is impossible…because Naruto is dead, right?)

"Bastard, I'm real, you jerk. Just wait a while, alright? Your chakra coils are a mess".

He also hears what he believes to be the Sandaime's voice. An old voice, gravelly, familiar, comforting but a dead voice.

Then sometimes he thinks he sees ghosts. A golden haired child peering up at him curiously through unfamiliar innocent eyes. He knows for certain that this child cannot be Naruto, because Naruto's eyes, though always filled hope and determination have never been innocent.

Furthermore…this child is…6, maybe 7.

And Sasuke is 18 while Naruto is dead.

Sasuke laughs again, insane, he thinks to himself wryly, I've gone insane.

"Hah, bastard, you're not insane."

Sasuke is no longer aware of anything. His world is a psychedelic mix of colors, time hazes and passes.

For all he knows, he may be dead.

"You're not dead, teme. I won't let you." The voice is a bare whisper through his mind.

But if he's dead, then at least he has Naruto voice to keep him company, even if Naruto voice isn't real.

"Teme…"

xxxxxxxxxxx

The Sandaime isn't sure what to make of the strange ninja who had, quite literally, appeared from nowhere.

He sighed and looked over at the still body.

The man's eyes are half lidded, glazed and unseeing.

Sometimes it seemed as though the anonymous ninja would awake, the eyes would blink and sharpen only to fall back into sightlessness once more.

He wondered just what demons haunted this young man, that though oblivious to everything, the mouth still moved and spoke, still quirked in strange half-smiles and scowls.

He spoke of betrayal and carnage and oblivion.

All the medics concurred that the ninja had obviously been caught in a dangerous genjutsu of some sort.

Their diagnosis had been strange to say in the least. His chakra coils were bulging, full to nearly bursting.

It was a wonder the man wasn't dead, but strangely enough his own body seemed to be healing itself. Slowly, very slowly, blue chakra laced with red was slowly twining through the man's channels; reducing pressure, smoothing the bulges, gently integrating the overflow into the man's body.

The third Hokage sighed again, and shook his head as he gently left the room.

The ninja was obviously delusional, for Konoha was still standing strong, and little Naruto was quite alive.

-End-

(AN: It's really open ended...so I might write more. But no guarentees to when or even if I'll write though :) I need to see if anyone is interested first...)